If you’re one of the world’s digital nomads, you need to have the right tools to do your job and enjoy your footloose lifestyle.
Luckily, there are plenty of online apps and other innovations to help you stay connected, productive and mobile across the globe. Here are our top online tools for digital nomads:
Staying connected
If you need to call or conference into the office, Zoom is one of the best collaboration tools on the market. It’s simple to use. You just download the app and can connect to the office using audio, video and shared screens.
The starter package, which should meet the needs of most digital nomads, is free to use.
If your inbox is creaking under the weight of emails, Slack is a great messaging app to help you stay in touch with your colleagues.
Slack’s user experience sets it apart from other such communication apps. It’s easy to stay connected, have more spontaneous conversations and find the information you need from your colleagues when you’re not physically in the office.
Trello is a simple project management tool and the starter package is free. You can set up teams, groups, and boards where you assign tasks, set deadlines, monitor progress and share information with your team. It’s incredibly intuitive to use and can also be helpful for managing your personal projects, as well as those of the teams and companies you work for.
If you need a more in-depth project management tool then Asana and Basecamp are both solid solutions.
If you need to share your work with your colleagues, then the Google Suite of products, including Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and Google Drive, is a lifesaver.
It provides you and your team with the ability to edit your work together in real time. You can also leave comments on your work, tag people if you need someone to take a specific action and control access rights to give the appropriate people access to your work.
Google Photos is another great app where you can seamlessly save all your photos of your travels.
Toggl is a free time tracking tool to help you keep tabs on your work and understand where your time goes. It’s simple, fast and intuitive to use, and you can categorize your work depending on your project and client.
Staying online and safe
If you’re traveling to remote locales, then it’s important to ensure that you can still get online. The Skyroam mobile hotspot gives you unlimited wifi for just $9 a day and works in more than 130 countries across North and South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. You can search for a specific country here.
If you use public hotspots, Private Internet Access creates a virtual private network that encrypts your data. This helps protect you from online threats and it hides your IP address to keep your browsing habits and location private.
You can keep your files safe and sound in the cloud with Dropbox. There’s a desktop and mobile app – and a range of packages so you can pay for what you use.
If you want a more robust backup service then Backblaze is a great backup service, with prices starting from just $5/month. You can also locate your computer if it’s lost or stolen through Backblaze – and have a hard drive shipped to your door with your data on it.
Staying informed
Nomad List is a great repository of information for digital nomads. From the cost of living to safety and internet connectivity, you can find out about more than 1,200 cities and join a community of more than 9,000 nomads on the site.
There’s also a jobs board if you’re looking for work and a marketplace if you want to buy or sell any products or services.
Remote OK is another great jobs board for nomads, especially those working in tech-related roles. Also, Teleport is another app that compares cities around the world.
If you’re looking for things to do in the local area, Meetup is a site where you can find and organize events. If you search for “digital nomads” on the site, a host of nearby events should appear.
If you’re struggling to understand the local language, then Duolingo is a handy app where you can learn new words and phrases while you’re waiting for your next flight.
Google Translate is another useful tool to help to overcome the language barriers by translating text on the spot – and without the need of an internet connection. You can download languages and access them offline.
Finally, if you want to find somewhere to work, Copass lets you access a huge repository of coworking spaces. Using one pass, you have access to more than 900 workspaces.
All you need to do is choose a plan – you can pay per use, select how many days or selected an unlimited pass – find a space and check yourself in.
